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By PRINCE MABUMBA

ZAMBIAN mining Industry stalwart, Sixtus Mulenga has called on Government to provide incentives to indigenous Zambians involved in large-scale manganese mining through export duty waivers, import duty exemptions and Value Added Tax deferment on importation of plant machinery.

Dr Mulenga, who is also Musamu Resources Limited founder and executive chairman, said one of the major constraints affecting Zambia’s manganese mining sector is the high cost of exports due to the land-linked geographical position of the country.

“The cost of exporting material is very expensive and the port charges are also very expensive that makes our exports or the business of manganese less competitive as compared to our colleagues or other countries who have seaports examples being Australia, South Africa and Gabon,” Dr Mulenga said.

Speaking when he made a submission during the Townhall Forum on the 2023 mid-year economic performance and 2024-2026 Medium Term Budget Plan in Lusaka yesterday, Dr Mulenga said giving financial relieve to citizens involved in large-scale Manganese mining will  enable Zambia  to compete favourably  with other countries with seaport access.

“And this can be done by providing a waiver of export duty during the time of development and secondly providing import duty exemptions and VAT deferment on importation of plant and machinery to build value addition processing plants,” Dr Mulenga said.

He said it was important for Government to provide a financial relief to indigenous Zambians so as to make it possible for them to conduct the business economically.

He added that manganese could be used to produce Electric Vehicle batteries and enhance Zambia’s role in the green economy. 

Dr Mulenga also said Government should improve the Tanzania-Zambia Railways (TAZARA) to enable the Manganese mining companies to export their products in bulk and reduce the unit cost of production.

On the gemstone sector, Dr Mulenga said the sector can provide significant contribution to the national treasury if critical measures to introduce ‘restricted’ trade of gemstones are taken.

Dr Mulenga said Government should introduce a system in which trade in rough gemstones such as emerald is restricted to companies that have mining licences and those that cut, polish and manufacture jewellery 

“These are the two categories to which trading in rough gemstones  in the country should be restricted to and  once we do that, it will bring in  a lot of international investment because they will feel that the  business is protected and has got a very good framework which they can operate in” Mr Mulenga said. 

On petroleum, Dr Mulenga said Zambia has a geological setting, which has potential for oil and gas. 

He said Zambia’s geological setting was similar to some neighbouring countries that are producing oil and gas. 

“But you may be wondering why we are not exploring because in Zambia we have the Rift Valley Extension where oil has been found, we have the Atlantic Sub-basin where oil has been found but nothing. 

“The reason for that is we have an investment framework , which we still need to work on and our proposal is that Government needs to consider reducing its free carry from the current 35 percent to 10 percent and if we do that, we will be in line with the region and we will be very competitive,” Dr Mulenga said.

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Immunotherapies for cancer aim to induce the immune system to combat cancer cells more effectively. In the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, a Chinese research team has now described a new, modular strategy for T-cell-based immunotherapy that manages to work without complex genetic modifications. Modulation of cell–cell communications through an ingenious regulatory circuit using various small, specially folded DNA molecules (aptamers) causes cancer cells to directly activate their mortal enemies, T cells.

A new website gives the public, health professionals and researchers easy access to data about the prevalence of all diseases in the U.K., marking a landmark achievement for global health information analysis.

A new study from researchers at Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Dentistry reports on linking electronic health records and electronic dental records to provide better care and outcomes for individuals with Sjögren’s disease, an autoimmune disorder that can affect the entire body, including teeth. Their work may have implications for other systemic autoimmune diseases, including lupus and possibly rheumatoid arthritis.

The number of gender-affirming surgeries in the U.S. nearly tripled from 2016 to 2019 before dropping slightly in 2020, according to a study published Wednesday.

Domestic violence, including intimate partner violence (IPV), before, during or after pregnancy is associated with many serious harms, including increased risk of maternal hemorrhage, higher rates of postpartum depression and increased risks of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality.

With around 90% of drugs failing to make it to market, the potential for improving efficiency within the drug development industry is clear. Drugs designed to combat cancers suffer similar rates of failure for many reasons. Now, researchers have revealed one reason why certain anti-cancer compounds can cause unexpected side effects. This research could help guide an understanding of why some drugs show more promise than others, providing a new tool that can be used to identify those drugs and drug candidates.

A study led by researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and Weill Cornell Medicine discovered a new relationship between cancer cells and the immune system, and shows how cancer can selfishly hijack a normally helpful immune pathway.

GOVERNMENT has continued to take the nation on a rollercoaster ride when it comes to agriculture.

Quite clearly, no one appears to know what is going on in the agriculture sector as “directives” are issued everyday that only leaves all and sundry in confusion.

In one moment, the nation is told that there has been a bumper harvest that would normally result in having cheaper mealie meal on the market and in the other, citizens are being told of a moratorium on the export of maize, mealie meal and livestock…without any form of explanation.

When everyone expects transparent trading in the maize sector, Government comes up with another unexpected decision – that it is enforcing temporary restrictions on maize grain and mealie meal until further notice.

No doubt this is likely to disrupt the operations of milling companies as they traverse the countryside looking to buy maize from the farmers.

Strangely however, the government says the movement of maize and mealie meal to the border towns would continue on a case by case basis.

Agriculture Permanent Secretary Green Mbozi said the Food Security Committee on August 2 decided that a temporally restriction on movement of maize grain and mealie meal be immediately put in place.

This is according to a letter addressed to the Zambia National Farmers Union, Millers Association of Zambia, Grain Traders Association of Zambia and National Union for Small-Scale Farmers Association of Zambia from Mr Mbozi.

He said that there would be no inter district stock movement for now until a time that the ministry shall advise.

“This minute, therefore, serves to inform you that there will be no inter district stock movement for now until such a time that the ministry shall advice. However, movements to border towns will still be permitted on a case by case basis,” Mr Mbozi said.

Since Government has not explained the reason for this shift in policy, the nation is left to speculate as to what has really happened.

No wonder that Kantanshi Member of Parliament Anthony Mumba has said Agriculture Minister Reuben Mtolo Phiri is not being sincere about the country experiencing a bumper harvest when farming inputs were delivered late.

Mr Mumba said this to him was a miracle because all FISP farmers were complaining about the lateness of the inputs. 

The more reason why everyone is confused that amidst a bumper harvest, the price of mealie meal is almost beyond the reach of the average Zambian.

As Mr Mumba noted, today the cost of mealie meal was averaging around K315 which was hurting most Zambians.

He said this price told a lot and as though this was not enough, again fertiliser contracts for 2023/ 2024 had been cancelled similar to the last farming season and now with this directive from above with no clear end game being explained.

We believe no farmer wants a repetition of the chaotic distribution of fertiliser and other farming inputs as was experienced in the 2022/23 season when the fertiliser supply and distribution chain was politicised.

The end result was single-sourcing – that did not solve the problem as even those picked failed to deliver as per the contracts signed hence the late delivery and bumper yield.

Mr Mumba said in the past on the floor of Parliament he had questioned the shambolic 2022/ 2023 farming season where the country saw inputs for that farming season being provided as late as January, 2023. 

Is another repeat episode about to start?

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The chromosome associated with male development, which is the last mysterious piece of the human genome, has been fully sequenced by a team of more than 100 researchers around the world including Johns Hopkins University scientists.